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Rugby League European Nations CupThe European Nations Cup (formerly known as the European Championship) is a rugby league tournament for European nations. The tournament was first started in 1935, with England, Wales and France each playing each other once. Unlike the Tri-Nations series, there was no final; the team finishing at the top of the group was deemed the winner. The tournament was initially played annually, with the exception of the war years. In 1946-47, the tournament was altered, with each team playing each other twice, at home and away. The 1949-50 season saw a return to playing only once, but a new team, "Other Nationalities", was added. This team consisted of players who were not English, Welsh, or French playing in the British and French leagues: Australia, New Zealanders, Scots, Irish players and others all played for this side. The 1955-56 tournament had no Welsh team, though Welsh players featured for Other Nationalities. The tournament was not played again until 1969-70. It was revived in 1975, with the three-team format of England, Wales and France playing each other team only once being made standard. The tournament was cancelled after 1981, but it was revived under the same format for 1995 and 1996. The tournament was revamped for 2003, with Scotland, Ireland and Russia being brought in. The new structure saw two groups of three, with the winner of each group meeting in a final. Another tournament, under the same format, will be held in October and November 2004. From 2004 Scotland, Ireland and Wales had to have at least four 'home grown' players from their domestic competitions (in the case of Wales this means Welsh clubs playing in the TotalRLConference) in their squad. Effectively this means that at least one home grown player is guaranteed a start. Past tournaments | Season | Winner | | 1935 | England1 | | 1935-36 | Wales | | 1936-37 | Wales | | 1938 | Wales | | 1938-39 | France | | 1945-46 | England1 | | 1946-47 | England | | 1947-48 | England | | 1948-49 | France | | 1949-50 | England1 | | 1950-51 | France1 | | 1951-52 | France1 | | 1952-53 | Other Nationalities1 | | 1953-54 | England | | 1955-56 | Other Nationalities | | 1969-70 | England1 | | 1975 | England | | 1977 | France | | 1978 | England | | 1979 | England | | 1980 | England | | 1981 | France | | 1995 | Wales | | 1996 | England | | 2003 | England | | 2004 | England | Footnote - Denotes that the title won on points difference
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